Students share health practices from Japan

On April 12, students from the Osaka College of Health and Welfare in Japan visited Pierce. Julia Woodworth, the Program Specialist in the International Education department, hosted the event. “The program has been active for 15 years,” she said.

The Japanese students put together an interactive event for their Pierce counterparts to participate in. “This is the fun part of the three-day program,” said Woodworth.

At their event, the Japanese Cultural Exchange, Japanese students taught things like Japanese calligraphy and origami. The also played a bean-picking game with chopsticks, and rubber band gun game, and a game called “Statues” that is much like “Red Light, Green Light.”

After playing games and teaching crafts, some of the Japanese students gave speeches on various health practices in Japan. There was a translator present to help English-speaking students understand the demonstrations.

One presentation covered the steps people can take in Japan to prevent certain diseases, such as diabetes. The other lecture involved the wait times at hospitals in Japan and what the hospitals have done in order to cut down the stress of waiting. The students mentioned putting comics, televisions, and other things in the waiting rooms, and explained how people reacted to each method.

In May, the students will come back to study elderly care by participating in studies in assisted living homes. They will also put on another cultural exchange event for Pierce students. The Osaka students come to Pierce every year in April, May, October, and November.